Kurdistan Region is preparing 'a different type of negotiations' with Baghdad: Official

Mustafa Shilani 2021/04/21 22:07

KRG official Omid Sabah speaks to reporters during a press conference in Erbil, April 21, 2021. (Photo: Kurdistan 24)

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ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) official said on Wednesday morning that a delegation from the autonomous region will soon visit the Iraqi capital to conduct "a different type of negotiations," to implement the 2021 budget.

Notable among the provisions passed is one finalizing the amount of the nation's financial share allotted to the Kurdistan Region, one of the fundamental disagreements between Baghdad and Erbil along with others relating to disputed territories and oil.

Omid Sabah, the high-ranking official, said that the region's cabinet will meet today to "talk about the general lines" of the region's own budget bill.

"We want to draw, through the Kurdistan Region’s budget, a roadmap for us in the field of economic reform, maximizing imports and reducing spending," he said.

"We are ready to pay a visit to Baghdad again," Sabah continued, "and that is why we are busy about it with the concerned authorities, especially since our visit this time will be related to the implementation part after the Kurdistan Region has expressed its readiness to fulfill all the obligations incumbent upon it."

Since the toppling of the former Iraqi regime in 2003, the federal and regional governments have proven unable to find much middle ground on a number of fundamental issues.

In response to a question by Kurdistan 24 correspondent about the next step with Baghdad, Sabah said, "This time, we will conduct negotiations differently."

Sabah explained that "expert negotiations" would soon be held between the region's finance ministry with its federal counterpart, as well as financial oversight bureaus.

Editing by John J. Catherine